Managers' Conference - Team Talk

Your BenefitsDELIVERYDoing things betterFINANCEBeing financially strongReducing WasteSaving EnergyWorking SafelyImproving ProfitsUsing our Assets BetterImproving A tendanceImproving Branch StandardsHandling Complaints BetterGrowing SalesReducing ComplaintsTrading with MembersIncreasing ComplimentsPutting customers firstCUSTOMERSCo-operating to make a differenceSupporting our CommunitiesCO-OPERATIONPromoting Co-operationCreating Loyal CustomersActing Ethica lyWorking together as Team MidcountiesBeing an Employer of ChoiceProviding Opportunities for allCommunicating e fectivelyPerforming at our BestPEOPLEIn this issue we explain salary exchange and let you know about the pensions autoenrolment changes that will be coming into play soon.Understanding salary exchangeThere are lots of benefits available to you through salary exchange but what does salary exchange really mean? Here is an example of what salaryexchange is and how it can be used to save you money!Salary exchange, also know as salary sacrifice, is designed to save you money. It is simply exchanging a part of your salary for something else, such aschildcare vouchers or a prepayment scheme. As the money is taken from your pay before tax and National Insurance (NI) are deducted you won’t pay taxand NI on that money, which lowers the overall amount of tax you pay on your earnings.Here is an example:Stevie earns £1,000 each pay day working 39 hours each week (£6.41 per hour). We cannot exchange our pay below thenational minimum wage of £6.19* (age 21 and over) so this leaves £34 per 4 weeks that Stevie can exchange.Instead of paying Norton after-school club by cheque Stevie exchanges £34 for childcare vouchers each pay day and by doingthis, saves £11 in tax and NI. This £143 per year saving in tax contributes towards toys for Christmas!Q. Can this affect your pension, maternity pay and tax credits?A. Yes so you should spend some time reading scheme information so you can make a decision.Learn more on the intranet or contact your.benefits@midcounties.coop for more information.*Effective from October 2012Understanding Auto EnrolmentYou might have seen information in the media and on television about auto enrolment into pensions recently. Here’s what it’s all about.The government wants to help colleagues build up savings for their pension when they retire. So, all employers will soon be required to put their colleaguesinto a pension scheme if they are not already in one. This means that, as of April 2013, if you’re not already saving into the Society’s CARE or Stakeholderpension scheme, if you are over 22 but under State Pension Age and earn more than £8,105 a year, then the Society will put you into a pension schemecalled NEST – the National Employment Savings Trust.It also means that you will have to make savings into NEST – these will be made direct from your pay and the Society will contribute to your savings as well.If you don’t want to save for retirement you will be able to opt out of NEST. We will be writing to every colleague in January to make sure you have all theinformation you need.You can find out more about the government’s plans now at:www.direct.gov.uk/workplacepensionIf you’ve got a question on the Midcounties pension schemes you can contact the Pensions team32Team Talk